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Saturday, 24 May 2014

Saucy microwave puddings

I’m so sorry it’s been such a long time since I last posted!
Since that time things have been quite crazy – I managed to lose my building security
pass, break my iron (I dropped it on the ground), get sick, look after Mr
Duckie whilst he was sick, and make sure I had all my assignments ready to hand
in at uni. After all of this, my brain just decided to give up. In fact, I
spent most of last weekend asleep or doing not much at all whilst trying to
recover. Hopefully things will calm down a bit now, and I can get my head back
in order again.

During these busy weeks, I’ve been heavily reliant on meals that are quick
and easy, whilst still giving the required nutrients. This microwave pudding is simple, quick, and
requires very little fuss. It isn’t exactly the most healthy, but it does help to lift
the spirits (which is undoubtedly another important role of food!). When Mr
Duckie was ill and in need of something sweet and comforting, and I didn’t have
much time to spare, this was my go-to dessert.

Apart from its ease, the best thing about this recipe is
that it is so versatile. I’ve provided both a vanilla and a chocolate recipe here,
depending on what you feel like. I used the vanilla cake base to make a saucy
lemon pudding, just by adding some store-bought lemon curd to the bottom of the
bowl! This gave a bubbling lemon sauce underneath the vanilla sponge top (it got quite hot, so be careful when eating this!). I’ve
also made this into a jam pudding by dolloping some jam into the bottom (using my favourite cherry jam). This was also delicious and I think I even liked the jam version better than the lemon!

I used a very special-looking vanilla bean paste for the
vanilla sponge. The paste contains lots of vanilla seeds in it, and a spoonful
of this paste is equivalent to a whole vanilla bean! The pudding had lots of
lovely tiny black flecks throughout thanks to the vanilla paste.

For the chocolate version, I added big chunks of chocolate
in the middle to give it a melty chocolate centre – I ended up with little pools of chocolate sauce throughout the pudding! I would definitely experiment with different types of
chocolate as well – maybe some caramel chocolate to add some caramel sauciness
to the centre ;)

This pudding is egg-free and can easily be made dairy free
by using a milk alternative and dairy-free chocolate. Also note that the
serving is big enough for two or even three people, so you’ll have plenty to
share with your special someone. Feel free to play around with your favourite
additions and jam flavours to make this pudding your own!

3. Make a well in the centre and add in milk, oil and vanilla paste (add a little extra milk if you feel the mixture is too stiff - it should have a dolloping consistency like regular cake batter). Stir well to combine.

4. Spoon over the lemon curd/jam. Microwave for 3 minutes, stopping every minute to check whether the cake is cooked (do not overcook cake otherwise it can be dry).